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The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday launched its global strategic response plan to contain outbreaks of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, in Africa.
The plan covers a six-month period from September to January and will cost about $135 million.
“The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries can be controlled, and can be stopped,” said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a press release. “Doing so requires a comprehensive and coordinated plan of action between international agencies and national and local partners, civil society, researchers and manufacturers, and our Member States.”
The plan calls for enhanced surveillance of the virus, timely detection, and rapid response in high-risk areas. It also aims to implement strategic vaccination efforts focusing on individuals at the highest risk levels, like healthcare workers and people who have had close contact with recent cases.
The plan comes after the WHO determined earlier this month that an upsurge in mpox cases in the DRC and other countries in Africa constituted an international public health emergency. This was the WHO’s second public health emergency for mpox in two years.
A new variant of Mpox, known as clade Ib, has emerged and appears to be more contagious than previous variants. The new variant has been found in DRC, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Sweden’s public health agency confirmed its first case of the strain on Aug. 15, marking the first occurrence outside of Africa. Since than, Thailand has also confirmed its first case of the strain.
Mpox is a viral disease that spreads between animals and people. Its symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters, according to the CDC. There have been 3,562 cases of mpox and 24 deaths this year so far, according to the WHO.
The WHO’s budget does not include the cost of approximately 2 million vaccine doses that are essential for the plan.
Bavarian Nordic and Emergent BioSolutions EBS-2.18% are the makers of the only two vaccines that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for Mpox. Their stocks have surged since the WHO declared an international public health emergency.